Basic concepts in Aconex Connected Cost

Accessing Cost

The Cost module appears in the main Aconex navigation menu. To access it, click the Cost menu then select an option, or double click to go straight to Cost Management.

The Cost Workspace

Cost Workspace describes the data and application features you have access to in your organization and projects. The overall interface is shown below using the main cost worksheet as an example.

1. Main Navigation Menu
2. Main Toolbar
3. Filter Menu
4. Cost Worksheet Main Grid
5. Main Grid Selected Row
6. Lower Grid Menu
7. Lower Grid
8. Lower Grid Selected Row
9. Shared Workspace Menu

The Main Navigation Menu

The navigation menu allows you to access the different parts of Cost for your project.
The menu may have different options depending on the features available to your organization (i.e. license type) and your cost security profile.

The Main and Lower Grids

Grids display a table of data in a spreadsheet view and include multiple fields for each record as columns. Each row represents a single record. In some cases, where data can be summarized, the totals are displayed in the summary levels of the hierarchy. 

For example, in the cost worksheet grid, totals are rolled-up to each summary level of the WBS, all the way up to the highest level (i.e. project level). Also, the totals from all of the control account records assigned to a WBS element are totaled at the WBS level. These summary calculations are automatically performed when data is added, modified, or deleted.

Many of the screens in Cost have a split grid view with an upper (main) grid, and a lower grid that shows detailed information about the selected record.

Grids are extremely flexible and customizable, allowing you to organize your data in a way that’s most meaningful to you.

You can:

• Resize Columns - The width of a column can be resized by hovering your mouse over margin line between two columns in the column header row and dragging to the left or right.
• Column Chooser - Right-clicking anywhere in the column header row to choose which columns are displayed in the grid.
• Re-Arrange Columns - Clicking on the column header and dragging it to its desired location can modify the sequence of columns in a grid or sub-grid.
• Sort Columns - Columns can be sorted in ascending or descending order by clicking on the column header of the column that you want to sort by. For example, when you click on the First Name column header in the user accounts grid, the user accounts will be sorted in descending order by the first name of the users.

Using Views

The toolbar for each grid has a View menu that allows you to control which columns are displayed on the grid. You can create multiple views for different purposes as either personal or shared views.

Existing views can be edited by clicking the view menu and clicking the edit icon to the right.

Access both standard and custom views from the View drop-down menu in the toolbar. You also create and delete custom views.

To create a new view:

1. Click the View menu.
2. Select Create new view.
3. Give your view a name and assign a group (if required).
4. Select the columns you wish to show, and in which order you wish to show them, by dragging the rows up and down using the left icon.
5. Select whether you’d like these custom views only available to you or share them with other members of your organization.  

The Main and Lower Toolbars

The main toolbar is displayed on most pages above the main grid. The toolbar commonly has actions for add, edit, delete, import, and export, however some pages have unique features. Run your mouse over each icon to see what its function is.

Pages that contain a main and lower grid also have a similar toolbar on the lower grid that controls similar functions for the data displayed.

Common functions included in many of the toolbars are:

• View selector - change, edit, and create views.
• Add - opens a window to add a new record.
• Delete - most data can be permanently removed, however, there are some restrictions depending on how the record is linked to other records.
• Cut - records can be moved to a different location within the grid. Cutting the record will not delete the record from the grid.
• Copy Record - records can be copied and inserted in a different location within the grid. When a copied record is inserted, Cost will automatically append the name with a (number).
• Paste Record - once a record has been cut or copied, it can be pasted to another location in the same grid.
• Expand - expands a hierarchical set of data in a grid.
• Collapse - collapses a hierarchical set or data in a grid.
• Sync - run the P6 or OPC schedule sync utility to refresh the schedule activity data.
• Import - data in a CSV format can be imported into Cost.
• Export - data in grids are exported to a CSV file.

Searching Data

All grids have a search feature that allows you to temporarily filter the displayed data to find records that meet the search criteria. All columns whether they are displayed or not are included in the search, making it easy to find records without having to add specific columns.

Filtering Data

Some grids have a Filter menu feature that allows you to filter the displayed data based on the project WBS hierarchy. The filter menu is hidden by default but can be displayed by clicking the Filter by WBS link between the main navigation menu and the main grid.